Brent Barry, Chauncey Billups included as potential Atlanta Hawks GM targets, per report

The Atlanta Hawks need a general manager in the (very) near future and the search continues. On Tuesday morning, however, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical shed additional light on the process and unearthed a few new names.

The Magic are competing with the Atlanta Hawks, who have a general manager opening. Atlanta is considering a number of candidates, including Griffin, Joe Dumars, Houston vice president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, and New York Knicks director of player personnel Mark Hughes, sources said. Atlanta is also planning to discuss the GM opening with television analysts and former players Chauncey Billups and Brent Barry, league sources told The Vertical.

Houston has granted permission to Atlanta to discuss the opening with Rosas, its No. 2 executive behind GM Daryl Morey, league sources said.

The inclusion of David Griffin and Joe Dumars is repetitive from previous reporting but names like Chauncey Billups and Brent Barry jump off the page. It should be noted that Gersson Rosas (who was a three-year GM in the D-League) and Mark Hughes (who has a lengthy list of coaching and scouting experience) would be more practical, but the “splashy” discussion could revolve around the former players. Both are well respected in NBA circles and as analysts, but neither has direct experience on par with the other stated candidates.

With a scope that appears to be quite wide at this point, a decision does not appear to be close and that is at least slightly troubling given the looming presence of both the draft and free agency. Still, finding the right person for the job is paramount and, according to the report, the Hawks are looking far and wide for that individual.

Stay tuned.